Gas-producer.



' s. B. sHBLDoN.

GAS PRODUCER. nrPLIoA'rron Hum 11,111.6, 190s.

Patented Apr. 26, 1910.

4 annua-sansa' 1.

Scam@ @Weldon @y die??? S. B. SHBLDON.

GAS PRODUCER.

APPLIGATION FILED mui. s, 1909.

956,199. Patented Apr26,1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Sr B.- SHELDON.

GAS PRODUCER. Prmourox num un. e, 190s.

4 BHBBTBPSEEET 3.

zfezzr Samuel 5 S/geldozk 1y if,

s. B. sHBLDoN. GAS PRODUCER.

PPLITION ILBD HAB. 8, 1909. 956, 1 99. Patented Apr. 26, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4r "or-TICE. if;

SAMUEL sHELnomon fsourIrBnrHLE'nEM, PENNSYLVANIA).

ans-inaloiniczsn.l i

To all whom`fi-t may concern.' f .v

Be it known'that I, SAMUEL B. SHELDON, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of vSouth Bethlehem, inthe county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania,

'have invented certain new and useful Im'- plovements in Gas-Producers; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referenceV being had to-thek accompanying drawings, and to the` letters of referencel marked thereon, which form a part of thls spec1- cation. l 1

. This invention relates to improvements in gas producers, and the invention relates 'more specifically to improvements in kpoker actuating mechanism by which the pokers are operated to stir' or agitate the fuel during combustion, and also to a novelmeans of supportin and driving the rotative top Wall plate o agas producer upon which the poker actuating mechanism is mounted.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings z--Figure 1 is a side ele-v vation of a gas producer equipped with myV im Arovements, the fuel feeding devices beine' olnltted. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereo Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the pokers and its actuating mechanism detached from the other parts,4 portions being shown in section. Fig. 5 is a. similar view with the arts in changed positions. Fig. 6'is a detail illustratin apart of the means for suspendingthe po ers from theiractuating devices.

vThe combustion chamber 10 islsurrounded by the usual 'refractoryY wall 11, and said combustion chamber is. provided with a discharge conduit 12, through which the gases producedv in the furnace are discharged therefrom. i

14: designates themetal top Wall plate of the combustion; chamber.v ,Said vtop wall plate is provided with a feed .opening 15,.

and a feedhopper or casing16:,surrounds the same through which fuel '.islfed to thel 4combustion chamber byanysuitable feed mechanism, not iher'einshown.' The r:top wall plate 1.4 is supported .at itsouterJ-fmargm in`v a manner permitting.. it1 tofreelyQrotate As herein shown, the rotative topy wall plate-is provided with a plurality of supporting Specification of Letters Patent. application mea March e, 1909.

'ratentednpn 2c, 191'0.

Serial No. 481,647.

rotating top plate constitute traction wheelsv through which power is transmitted to drive or rotat'ethe top wall plate, there being two of such 'traction wheels 21, 22, as herein shown. Said latter wheels are lixedto the outer ends of rotative driving shafts 23, 24 .which extend inwardl y plate and are supporte in suitable bearings The mner ends Uof said shafts are arranged closely adjacent to each otherj over the top wall thereover.

at one kside of the center of the top wall plate, and said shafts are provided at theii` adjacent ends with opposltely facing bev1f,

eled gear wheels 25 and 26. i"

The annular membery20 on which is;

formed the track 19 that supports th`e"ft, opy wall plate is formed to-prov id'e, radially" inside of the track, an annular trough ar-44 ranged to be lled with water, and `the top' Wall lplate is provided'at its margin witha depending' annular flange 27 arranged to' dip into the water of the trough and thereby constitute a liquid seal between the rotative .top plate and the vertical Wall o f the cham# ber to prevent the escape of gas-from the combustion chamber. The said to' wall" plate is also provided on its up er si e with a vertical, annular, marginal ange or` rim 28 to form `on theupper side o'f the late a shallow receptacle to receive Water w ere-Q 95 30 30 designate fuel agitating pokers two of which are herein shown. Said plokers'f comprise flat or elongated heads 81, 31 and i by to keep the entire plate suitably cool.

stems 32, 32, which latter extend 'upwardly through openings inthe top wall" p late and are connected at their uCpper endsw1th actu- L ating mechanism locate above and supported on lsaid rotative top wall plate. "The i' actuating mechanism is arranged to give ,the

pokers reciprocatorymovement to forcethe -same into the'fuel bed andwi'thdra'wvthem therefrom, and saidf pokers v'are so supported lower endsl of the poker's' to swing freely von the actuatingdevices as vto permit' then".

rearwardly with respect to their points of support, relatively to the direction of rotation of the top wall plate whlch carnes the pokers. The poker actuating and supporting devices w11l now be described 1n connect1on with one of the pokers illustrated it being understood that said actuating and supporting devices are duplicated in the construction shown.

designates a rocking poker supporting and actuating lever which is mounte to rock vertically about a shaft 36 which is supported in the upper end of a standard 37 rising from the top wall late 14. As hereln shown, said rocking ever has the form of a bell-crank lever, it comprising two laterally separated arms 38, 39, one at each side of the bearing standard 37, and a bearing sleeve connecting said arms and having rocking bearing on the shaft 36. The sleeve extends through the standard and through openings in the ends of said lever arms and are keyed or otherwise non-rotatively fixed to said arms. In the present construction the sin le shaft 36 constitutes the bearing for bot poker supporting and actuating levers. Thus when the lower arm of the lever is swung backwardly and forwardly the upper arm rises and falls to give rising end with the up and falling or endwise reciprocating movement to its associated poker. The arm 38 extends forwardly from its pivot and is loosely connected or hinged at its forward er end of its associated poker stem 32, while the other or lower arm extends downwardly from the ypivot shaft and is connected at its lower end with an operating link or pitman 42, as by means o a pivot pin 43.

The two pitmen 42 extend forwardly from their points of connection with the lower arms 39 of said rocking levers and are loosely connected at their forward ends with operating cranks 44, 45 carried, as herein shown, by a gear wheel 46. The crank *44 is a typical crank, it being provided with a crank pin 47 with which the associated link 42 is loosely connected. The other parallel member or shaft 48 of the crank 44 is attached to the gear wheel 46 concentric therewith and is j ournaled in a bearing 49 formed on a standard 50 rising from the top wall plate 14. The crank'45 for operating the other poker comprises a crank pin 51 which is fixed to the gear wheel at one side of its center, to which the associated pitman 42 is loosely connected, and a shaft 52 concentric to the gear wheel 46 'and connected with the crank pin 51 by the arm of the crank. Said shaft 52 is mounted in a bearing 53 formed on the upper end of a standard 54 rising from the top wall plate 14. The crank pins are set at 180 degrees apart and the actuating mechanism is so arranged that one poker is thrust into the fuel bed while the other is withdrawn therefrom. The actuating gear; wheel 46, thus operatively connected w1thv the poker actuating levers 35, is driven from a suitable motor 57, an electric motor as herein shown, through the medlum of a tram of reducing gears, designated as a whole by 58, embracing a gear wheel 59 at one side thereof which meshes with a plnion 591 on the motor shaft, and a pinion 592 at its other side which meshes with the gear wheel 46. The shafts of said gear train are mounted in bearing standards which rise from the to wall plate of the combustion chamber.

he means for supporting and pivotally connecting thepoker stems with the arms 38 of the actuating levers are made as ffollows: Surrounding the upper end of each poker stem, above the rotating top wall plate 14, is a collar 60 which is provided with oppositely extending lugs 61, 61. The forward ends of the upper arms 38 of the supporting and actuating levers are forkd arid the members 62 of the forked ends of said arms extend on opposite sides of said sleeve and are provided with bearing journals to receive said lugs 61. The said collar 60 fits loosely over the poker stem in order that the stem may be adjusted toward and from the fire bed relatively to its point of connection with the actuating arm. The collar is adj ustably connected to the poker stem by means made as follows 64, 64 designate screw-threaded rods arranged vertically, one at each side of the poker stem, and .parallel therewith. The rods are provided at their lower ends with eyes 65 which fit over the lu s 61 laterally inside of the members of the orked arms of -the actuating levers. The screw-threaded rods extend upwardly through openings in the ends of a cross-plate 66 which is lixedly attached to the upper end of the stem in any suitable manner. As herein shown, the said A plate is provided with a central opening vthrough which the stem extends and the stem is exteriorly screw threaded for screwthreaded attachment to said plate. The said plate 66 is vertically adjustable on the screwthreaded rods. To this end the rods may extend loosely through the openings in the ends of said plate and the plate may be locked to the rods by upper and lower nuts 68, 68 which have screw-threaded engagement with the rods and bear against the upper and lower sides of said late. The raising of the plate 66 on sai screw-threaded rods 64 has the eect to shorten the depth of stroke of the pokers, and the lowering of the plates on said rods has the effect to increase thedepth of said stroke. The poker stem slides through the collar 60 to permit adjustment of said stem relatively to the actuating` lever. Surrounding said stem above the collar is a gland 70, between which and said collar 60 is interposed a yielding packing ring 71 which ts the stem s'o closely as to 'water contained therein. Said be scarce prevent the escape of gas between the same and said stem. The glald may be adjustably fixed to the stem y means of set screws 72, whereby the gland may be shifted lengthwise relatively to the stem when the poker is adjusted with respect to itssupporting and actuating levers.

In order to provide a water seal between the reciprocating poker stem and the rotating top wall plate 14 to prevent the escape of gas through the opening through which the poker stem extends, a construction is provided as follows: Surrounding the opening in the top plate 14 through which the poker stem extends is a water trough or receptaole 7 5 made of a depth not less than-the length of the .endwise movement of the poker stem. The outer 'wall of said .trough is formed by a vertical, transversely flattened tube which is attashed at its upper end to the top plate and depends therefrom and is elon ated inthe direction of the swinging or oscil1 atory movement of the poker stem. The saidout'erwall 76 is connected at its lower end with the flatbottom wall 77 of the trough which has an elongated opening through which the oker stem extends. Extending upwardly om. the said bottom wall 77 is a transversely elongated-tubular portion 78 constituting the inner wall of the water trou h, the latter tubular wall extending above t e level of the rim 28 of the rotative top wall plate of the furnace. The well or trough 75 thus formed between the inner and outer walls 76 and 78 receives water from the s ace surrounded by said iange 28.

Carried y the stem and depending therefrom is a downwardly opening casing or bell 80, and which extends downwardly into the upwardly opening trough 7 5,. Said bell or casing 80 is made of a length at least as great as that of the reciprocating stroke of the poker, so that, when the poker is in its uppermost position, the lower end of the bell or casing 80 will be below the upper end of the trough and submer -ed in the ill or casing 80 is attached at its upper end to a flange 82 extending laterally from the collar 60.

'which it extends.

The said bell or casing is transversely elongated in the direction of the swing of the poker to correspond with theicross-section of the trough, and is relatively, smaller than the trough to permit free swinging movement of the lower end of the poker rearwardly. This arrangement is such as to provide a water seal between the poker stem' and the rotative top wall of the furnace and thus prevent the escape of gas around the'stem andthrough the opening upwardly through The yieldin packing ring 71, between -the sleeve 70 anc collar 60,

'prevents the escape of gas' from the combustion chamber upwardly around the ppker strike the fuel bed, and the relative speed of rotation of the top wall plate, with respect to the reciprocating speed of the'- pokers, is such that the pokers are forced into the fuel bed and withdrawn therefrom while the lower ends of the okers are free to swing rearwardly, they beino withdrawn from the fuel bed before the vlimit of their rearward swing is reached. 'By reason of the relatively slow speed of thev top wall plate as compared to the reciprocatory speed of the pokers, vthe pokers swing rearwardl when in contact with the fuel bed but a short distance. The pokers are withdrawn from the fuelbedby the actuating mechanism at times when the lower ends thereof o ccupy the rearward limits of their swinging movement. As soon as they are withdrawn from the fuel bed they are restored to kvertical position by gravity, so that when they are again lowered they move vertically until brought into contact with the fuel bed. Thereafter, 4the lower ends thereof are swung rearwardly, due to contact with the fuel bedandl the rotation of the to wall plate, to 'be again restored to vertica position when withdrawn from the fuel bed. The pokers are thus thrust into the fuel bed in the samemanner as bya hand operation and are not dragged through the fuel as in cases where the movement of the poker'is a reciprocating one only, or where a very limited or yielding movementof the poker is provided. The rotation of the top wall plate merely serves to carry the pokers to new points of contact with the fuel bed, sov

that the fuel will be uniformly stirred. I preferably employ two pokers arranged one radiallyl inside of the other so as to cover the entire area of the bed. As a' further and separate improvement, the top wall plate 14 is rotated by power derived from the motor 57 which drives the poker actuating mechanism in the mannerhereinabove. described. The construction by' which the said top wall plate is thus rotated is made as' follows:

The crank shaft 52 is arranged transversely with respect to the driving shafts 23 and 24 of the traction and supporting wheels 21 and 22 and is located over the facing beveled gear wheels 25 and 26 at the ends of said shafts. The said crank shaft 52 is mounted at its end remote from its crank 45 in a bearing 85 formed on the upper end of a standard 86 rising from the top wallplate. Fixed to the shaft 52 just inside of said bearing 85 is a gear pinion 87 which meshes with a gear wheel 88 that is located beneath said pinion. Said gear wheel 88 is mounted on and turns with a countershaft 90 which is located between the gear wheels 25 and 26 and is parallel with the crank shaft 52. Said countershaft is rotativelymounted at one end' in the standard 86 and at its other end in a bearing 91 supported on the top wall plate. The said shaft 90 carries at one side of the centers of said gear wheels 25 and 26 a beveled pinion 93 which is arranged between and meshes with the said gear wheels. Power is thus'communicated to the traction wheel shafts to drive said traction wheels in opposite directions, and in the proper direction to transmit driving power to rotate the top wall plate.

In order to provide means for water cooling the pokers, the poker heads 31 consist of hollow castings, the interiors of which are in communication with the hollow poker stems, the latter being made of pipes or tubes of suitable diameter. in said hollow or tubular stems 32 are water supply pipes95 which extend at their lower ends a distance into the hollow poker heads and extend at their upper ends above the upper ends of the poker stems. Said water supply pipes are made of an exterior diameter substantially less than the interior diameter of the tubular stems, thus affording annular spaces in said stems around the supply pipes. At their upper extended ends sald supply pipes are connected with flexible hose 96 through which water is directed from any convenient source to the supply pipes. The supply pipes may be supported on the hollow poker stems in any convenient or preferred manner. As herein shown, supporting collars 98 surround and are fixed to said pipes above the poker stem supporting plates 66 and said collars are provided with supporting legs 99 which bear on the tops of said plates at points outside the central stem receiving openings thereof, (Fig. 3). The cooling water circulates downwardly through the supply pipes and through the hollow poker heads and thence upwardly7 through the annular space between the supply pipes and the walls of the tubular stems and overflows from the upper open ends of said tubular stems. The cooling` water overflows from the sa id poker stems downwardly into the water receptacle at the upper side of the top wall plate that is surrounded by the rim 28. The water overtiows from the top wall plate receptacle over the rim 28 into the sealing trough of the annular ring Contained withmember 20 from which trough the overflow water is directed through an overow pipe 100.

I claim as my invention 1. Poker mechanism for gas producers comprising, in combination with the rotative top of the gas producer and a poker located eccentrically on said top and extending therethrough, poker actuating mechanism mounted on and turning with said top, embracing a' member having rising and falling movement and by which said poker is directly supported and actuated, sald poker being suspended at its upper end from said actuating member by a connection permitting the lower end of the poker to swing freely in the direction of its eircular path and to maintain its vertical position by gravity when free from the fuel bed.

2. The combination with the rotative top of a gas producer and a poker located eccentrically on said top and extending therethrough, of poker -actuating mechanism mounted on and turning with said top, embracing a member having rising and falling movement and by which the poker is directly supported and actuated, said poker being connected at its upper end with said actuating member by a pivotal connection permitting the lower end of the poker to swing freely in the direction of its circular path and to maintain its vertical position by gravity when free from the fuel bed.

3. The combination with the rotative top of a gas producer and a poker mounted eccentrically on said top and extending therethrough, of a poker actuating mechanism mounted on and turning with said top comprising a rockingy poker supporting and actuating member provided with an arm which has rising and falling movement, said poker being pivotally connected at its upper end with said arm to permit the lower end of the poker to swing freely in the direction of its circular path.

t. The combination'with the rotative top wall plate of a gas producer and a poker extending therethrough, of poker actuating mechanism mounted on and turning with said plate, comprising a vertically swinging poker actuating and sustaining lever pivoted between its ends to a part on said top wall plate and from one -end of which the poker is swingingly suspended, and means connected with the other arm of said lever for actuating the same.

5. The combination with the rotative top wall plate of a gas producer and a poker extending through an opening in said plate, of poker actuating mechanism mounted on and turning with said plate comprising a rocking actuating member from which the poker is piiotally suspended in a manner to freely swing from its point suspension,

relatively to said supporting and actuatingv member.

7.4The combination with a' rotative top wallA- late of a gas producer and a poker exten ing through an opemng 1n said plate,

' a vertically rocking -lever pivoted between its ends to a part on said plate, means for rocking said lever, and means for pivoting the poker to the said lever comprising a collar surrounding the poker stem provided with laterally extendinv bearing lugs, and laterally separated bearings carried by said actuating lever in which said lugs are" 8.'The combination with a rotative top wall plate of a gas producer and a poker extending through an opening in said plate, a vertically rocking lever pivoted between its ends to a part on said plate, means for rockingsaid lever, and means for pivoting the poker to the said lever comprising a collar surrounding the poker stem provided with laterally extending bearing lugs, `lat' erally separated bearings carried by said actuating lever in which said lugs are mounted, a cross platelixed to the poker stem above said collar, said poker being arranged to slide in the collar, and means for adjustably fixing said collar. to said plate.

9. The combination with a rotative top wallplate of a gas producer and a poker extending through an opening in said plate,

of a poker supporting and actuating membei" mounted on and turning with said plate, means for pivoting the poker to the said member comprising a collar surrounding the poker stem provided with laterally extending bearing lugs, laterally separated bearings carried by said supporting and actuating member in which said lugs are mounted, a plate fixed to the poker stem above said collar, said poker being arranged to slide in the collar, screw-threadetl rods at' the side of the poker stem provided with eyes' which engage said lugs, said rods extending through openings in the plate, and nuts engaging the sc1'e\\'tlireaded rods for fixing the rods to said plate. f

10. The combination with the rotative top wall plate of a gas producer and a, poker extending through an opening in said plate,

with the other end of sald lever for rocking` or swinging the same.

11. The combination with the rotative top wall plate of a as producer and a poker extending throng an opening in said plate, of avertically swinging bell crank poker actuating and supporting lever pivoted to a standard rising from said plate, means for suspending fthe oker from one arm of said lever, a rotative crank shaft and a.pitman connecting said crankshaft with the other arm of said bell crank lever.

12. The combination with'a rota-tive top wall plate of agas producer and a poker extending through an opening in said plate, of a vertically rocking poker supportino and actuating member mounted o'n an turning with said plate, "a collar surrounding the poker stem and provided with lugsl which are mounted inbearings carried by said rocking member, and means for providing a water seal between the poker stem and said top plate, comprising an upwardly opening trough attached to anddepending fnoin the top wall plate, and a bell or casing surrounding and carried by said collar and extending downwardly into said trough;

v13. The combination-with a rotative top f Wall plate of a gas producer and a 'poker extending through an opening in said plate, of a vertically rocking poker supportin and actuating member mounted on an turning with said plate, a collar surrounding the poker stem and provided with lugs which are mounted in bearings carried by said rocking member, and means for providing a water seal between the poker stem and sald top plate, comprising an upwardly opening trough attached to and depending from the top wall plate, a bell or casing surrounding and carried by said collar and extending downwardly into said trough, the poker being endwise movable in the sleeve for adjustment, and a packing ring surrounding the stem above said collar.

14. A gas producer provided with a rotative top wall plate, an `annular track supported on the side wall of the producer radi'- ally outside of the top wall plate, supporting wheels for the top wall plate which rest and roll on said track, and shafts extending radially from the plate upon which said wheels are mounted, at least one of said wheels being,a traction wheelcarried by the rotative top plate for actuating said traction wheel.

15. A gas producer provided with a rotative top wall plate, an annular track supported on the producer wall, supporting-` wheels for said plate which rest and roll lio on said track, at least one of said wheels bein a traction wheel, a driving shaft affXe to said traction wheel, and a motor supported on the top wall plate operatively connected with said driving shaft.

16. A. gas producer provided with a rotative top wall plate, an annular track supported on the producer wall, supporting wheels for said top wall plate which rest and roll on said track, two of said supporting wheels, located at opposite sides of the top wall plate, being traction wheels, driving shafts connected with said traction Wheels and extending inwardly over the top wall plate toward each other and provided at their adjacent ends with gear wheels, and a motor carried by said top wall plate geared to said gear Wheels to rotate them in opposite directions.

17. The combination with a gas producer provided with a rotative top Wall plate, an annular track supported on the producer Wall, supporting wheels for said top wall plate which rest and roll on said track, two

oppositely located wheels being traction wheels, driving shafts connected with and extending inwardly over the top wall plate vfrom said traction wheels and rovided at their adjacent ends with gear wheels, poker actuating mechanism carried by said top wall plate, a crank shaft operatively connected with said poker actuating mechan` ism and with said gear wheelsof saiddrivv ing shafts, and a motor for driving said crank' shaft.

Aadjacent ends with beveled gear wheels Vwhich face euch other, poker actuating mechanism mounted on and turning with the said top wall plate, a crank shaft arranged transversely over the driving shaft for operating said poker actuating mechanism, and gear connection between said crank shaft and the facing gear wheels of said driving shaft arranged to rotate said shafts in opposite directions.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 27th day of February A. D. 1909.

SAMUEL BERTRAM SHELDON. lVitnesses:

JAS. C. FREDERICK, JAMES KERNAN. 

